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Offline .30WCF

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Got my first swarm today
« on: May 10, 2021, 09:29:52 pm »
As far as I know I had not had a swarm yet. Today while spreading gravel in the back driveway I noticed a swarm landing in a small apple tree. I was able to get them in a nuc. I had to steal a frame of pollen and a frame of brood from another hive, and gave them some foundation frames. The nuc has two quart size jar feeders on it now.








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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2021, 09:47:15 pm »
Swarns are fun. Good job.....  I see you found the queen!    👍🏻
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline cao

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2021, 09:48:03 pm »
Those low hanging swarms are a bonus.  :grin: 

My last one was 20+ feet in an apple tree.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2021, 09:50:30 pm »
https://youtu.be/tn6hLUG5wFY


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Offline Nock

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2021, 11:47:40 pm »
Congrats on the catch. Love those easy ones.

Offline Bob Wilson

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2021, 08:40:11 am »
.30. Great pics. It is really nice having those 5 frame nucs on hand.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2021, 08:44:16 am »
.30. Great pics. It is really nice having those 5 frame nucs on hand.
I built a bunch out of scrap plywood last year. I?ve got a few sitting around as swarm traps. I?ve got one up in a ladder tree stand in the back yard up high, one resting on the corner of the fence and I keep one on the hive stand with the bees.
I need to trim the bottoms on a couple because for some reason I built them all with solid bottoms and only made a couple as nuc supers.


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Offline FatherMichael

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2021, 08:52:03 pm »
Awesome!

Caught one yesterday -- my first one!
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2021, 04:17:34 pm »
Let?s go for round 2 now.


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Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2021, 04:21:27 pm »



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Offline beesnweeds

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2021, 04:55:11 pm »
Let?s go for round 2 now.


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If you do weekly quick inspections by lifting up the top box and looking on the bottom of the frames you will see when your hives start making swarm cups.  Once they are charged just remove the queen and a 3 frames (knock off the cups on the 3 frames and shake some extra bees into it) put them in a nuc and you will avoid losing a swarm to a top of a tree.
Everyone loves a worker.... until its laying.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2021, 05:31:37 pm »
It?s kinda weird. I lost all my queens in a formic pro treatment a few weeks ago. I got new queens they made from the brood. I marked the queen that swarmed earlier today. There were a few queen cells left that I figured she would chew. She was a new, short stubby queen. She was walking around the frame piping today and I found her open cell. A few hours later they were swarming. The newly marked was in the swarm.
There are no eggs or larvae in the the hive.


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Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #12 on: May 14, 2021, 05:32:14 pm »
It was almost an identical scenario with the swarm the other day.


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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #13 on: May 15, 2021, 01:46:36 am »
It's good you recovered your swarm.



                                                                                                                                                                                .
« Last Edit: May 15, 2021, 08:09:01 am by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline .30WCF

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Got my first swarm today
« Reply #14 on: May 15, 2021, 05:42:26 pm »
So I think I figured out what happened. Today I opened the hive that the swarmed yesterday. It was a week or so overdue for a new queen and had plenty of queen cells. A couple had been open for a week, but no queen, no eggs.
Today I found a two virgin queens. I marked one and squashed the other. Still no eggs. So the queen should be laying next week or so. Then I noticed comb under the hive.


I took the boxes apart and shook the bottom board into the brood box. In the comb I found eggs and larvae. I cut the comb and put it in a frame for them and looked through the box again for the queen with no luck.







I walked around near where I shook the bees and found the queen.


I put her at the entrance and she went in. So now there is a virgin and a laying queen in there.
They might swarm again with the virgin, but I can?t tell them apart. They are both young and marked with white.


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« Last Edit: May 15, 2021, 05:53:56 pm by .30WCF »

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #15 on: May 15, 2021, 05:54:44 pm »
There is plenty of room and they had a box of foundation.


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Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #16 on: May 15, 2021, 10:57:40 pm »
Here is a few more pics under the hive.







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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2021, 11:38:24 am »
WCF,
When you place a swarm in a hive with a screen bottom, you need to put a board under the hive to keep them from trying to build like yours are.  If you are transporting them, you do want to leave it open. I just made the same mistake last. As soon as I brought them home I used a brush to get them off the bottom, GENTLY.
I recommend that you pick up the box and move it off of the bottom board, if you have a spare one put it on it, and then shake the bees in front of it or open the top and shake them into the hive. Then remove the comb. Remember to put the hive back in its original location.
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Offline paus

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2021, 01:09:50 pm »
I had this problem when I installed my first screened bottom board.  Then I built the first DSBB which has been modified many times.  That solved that problem.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: Got my first swarm today
« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2021, 01:22:48 pm »
This was an established hive that returned itself. I guess the returning queen just missed the front door. The second swarm I caught came from this hive that I had been thinking was queenless. It had too many emergency cells I let mature while waiting on her to mate and return.


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